Natural Building

Ianto Evans, natural builder and co-author of the Hand-Sculptured House: A Practical and Philosophical Guild to building a cob cottage got it right when he wrote ‘…Natural building implies profoundly different attitudes to places, building sites, ecology, work and how we live in buildings.’

It is not enough for the ‘building’ to be constructed using locally sourced, recycled and sustainable natural materials; but also the process of ‘building’ needs to be sustainable with the end result a place to live and thrive in.

Traditional indigenous shelters (ethno-architecture) used natural materials, sourced locally and designed to meet the needs of the communities.

Our goal is to grow and support a community for natural building.

Our monthly fireside@theDoighouse chat connects professional builders, enthusiasts and individuals curious and/or passionate about natural building. If that sounds like you, or someone you know, we meet the 3rd Tuesday of each month. RSVP: susanmdoig@gmail.com for details.

The following is a simplified list of common natural building techniques and materials we will be exploring during our fireside chats.

Adobe

Cob

Cordwood (stack wall)

Earthbag

Earthships

Hempcrete

Light Straw Clay

Logs

Rammed Earth

Straw bale

Timber frame

There are many more natural and recycled building material methods including bamboo, plastic bottle walls, mycelium structures, and good old fashioned stone masonry, including dry-stacking. Our structural engineer, Mark Fleischhaker, P.Eng shared he has also seen stacked camel/sheep poop structures and old fashioned yurts with felt and animal skin/bark.